“The kill ledgers. Who has access?” Elias bellows.
I flinch at the hatred in his voice.
“Th-The Berishas. They move them. The Six all have copies.”
What is Elias looking for? What’s his endgame?
I press my body against the wall, inching toward the room.
A loud smack. Choking sounds. Metal scraping stone.
“You won’t make it out alive. Make your death useful. Where are the ledgers?”
Another blow. I flinch, nausea flooding me.
“Tell me,” Elias rasps, “and I’ll spare your wife and kids.”
I recoil in horror, my fingers digging into the crude stones that have seen too much over the years.
Run, Lana. Run.
My feet root to the ground.
Instead, I’m driven by a need to see the truth of my husband, the Shadow King I made the mistake of thinking could have a soft side.
I push the door a fraction wider.
My heart stops at the visual before me.
Elias is stripped of his jacket and tie, his white dress shirt drenched in sweat and blood. His eyes feral, teeth baring as he hoists a man up by his throat.
The man grunts as Elias drives a knife up beneath his ribs.
Crimson sprays the devil’s shirt.
“Time is ticking. Answers now. If you die before you tell me, your family perishes.”
“The B-Benefaction!” the man gurgles, eyes swollen, face barely recognizable. “They’ll have a copy there. Th-That’s all I know. Please—”
A sick, twisted smile curves Elias’s lips, his scar marred by blood spatter.
My hand slips on the doorknob. I stumble inside.
Elias’s cold, flat eyes snag mine, then flare with shock.
“H-Help me!” the man screams.
“Out!” Elias roars, grabbing the gun off the table.
Horrified, I spin around just as a shot explodes through the air. The man collapses, the thud echoing in my mind.
I burst through the door, fleeing the way I came.
Strains of “Für Elise” warp with sounds of murder as tears fall down my cheeks.
I not only married a monster.
I married a hellish nightmare, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to survive this.
